


An Overdue Discovery

by LilyLuna2018



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Voldemort, Aroace Charlie, Gen, This was so much fun to write let me tell you, aromantic Fred, asexual sirius, demiromantic sirius
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 09:28:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13143795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilyLuna2018/pseuds/LilyLuna2018
Summary: A summary of Fred's self-discovery, along with some help from his friends.





	An Overdue Discovery

**Author's Note:**

> This is a gift for tumblr user @aroacehogwarts 's White Dragon Gift exchange! I had a lot of fun writing it so I hope you have a lot of fun reading it

I’m not sure when I realized it, but it had come to my attention that while everyone else my age was falling in love left and right, I wasn’t. Even my own twin had, and it seemed like I was the only one left out.

During school, I figured it was just because I was too busy with all of my non-education to really pay much attention and that I would have plenty of time for it later. But later has come and I still haven’t felt so much as an inkling of any of these “feelings”.

I was beginning to doubt their existence at all, thinking maybe everyone just pretended to feel things.

And it wasn’t for lack of trying either. I had had a few girls come up to me, and since I figured I would like them eventually, if I just tried hard enough. I never did, and after a few years just stopped bothering.

I had once tried talking to Mom about it, but she only said, “Oh, Freddie, you’ll find someone eventually!” But at that point, I was beginning to think I never would.

It was Christmas Day, four years after George and I had left that lovely old castle up north, and I had finally worked up the courage to ask someone about it. I wanted to ask Bill because even though he’s married with a kid he was still the cool older brother that we all looked up to.

“Hey Bill,” I said, approaching him, watching him shift Victoire (my brother has a baby! I still can’t believe I can finally live up to my dreams of being that one uncle—you know the one) from one leg to the other.

“Hey, I haven’t gotten much time to talk to you yet. How’s work going for you?”

“Pretty well I guess. I mean it’s going great actually, things have really picked back up in the past year or so, so that’s pretty nice.”

“That’s great! How are the people there, any girl you’ve got your eye on?” He asked jokingly.

Frozen, I could only reply, “Uh, yeah, girls. I love ‘em, you know?”

“…Right.” He looked extremely uncomfortable and after a moment’s hesitation, directed me in the direction of one Sirius Black who was definitely trying to pretend like he wasn’t eavesdropping on us, saying, “I think you might want to talk to him about that…”

I walked over to him, very confused as to why I supposedly needed to talk to him. I opened my mouth to ask him about it when I realized that I didn’t actually know what I was supposed to ask him, so I just kind of stared at him for a minute until he finally sighed and went, “Okay, so I’m guessing you don’t get the whole sex thing, right?”

“Um, well, actually, I think I get that part…just not so much the romance part…?”

“Oh, okay then, well, what?” He was obviously very confused, which made two of us, but I wasn’t sure why because he had just seemed so sure of everything.

Remus plopped down next to Sirius, put his hand on his shoulder, and decided an intervention was needed. “Fred. What Sirius is trying to explain is that he is what’s known as asexual. It just means he doesn’t feel sexual attraction.”

“But, I have felt sexual attraction. Or at least I think I have.”

“Then it sounds like you might be aromantic: feeling zero romantic attraction.”

“There’s a name for it then?” I was trying not to show how excited I was, but this was nothing short of a revelation for me. If there was a name for it, then it might not be weird or bad. Or they have a name for it because it’s weird and/or bad and they’re about to send you to St. Mungo’s.

“Yes!” Remus looked just as excited as I was, except in a more teacherly way. He never really did leave that job, did he? “There’re also some terms for in between asexual and sexual and aromantic and romantic. Greyromantic and greysexual means that you only feel those feelings very rarely. Demiromantic and demisexual are where you are only attracted to someone after a very close bond has been formed.”

“Wait…” Sirius started quietly. “I think I might be that semi-thing you just said.”

“Demiromantic?”

“Cause like with you and Marlene, it was only after we became best friends, and I could never imagine liking anyone unless we were that close.”

“See, you’re never too late to discover new things about yourself. Now, Fred, what do you think?”

“Well I think I’m definitely aromantic, but I’m not really sure about the sexual attraction part aside from that I’ve actually—”

“WAIT SO LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT CAN BE A REAL THING??”

“Yes, Sirius,” Remus sighed. “It is a thing I’ve been told. And so have you, I think,” he reminded him, nodding towards James and Lily.

Right, I laughed. We had all heard that story more times than we could remember by that point.

As I got up to go somewhere to mull over this newfound thing, I saw Charlie staring at the wall in front of him, with what looked like tears in his eyes. Ginny was pulling on his sleeve but got no response, he was too lost in what appeared to be a realization of his own.

Two weeks later, I had yet to tell anyone, but I was slowly building up to it. “I am aromantic.” I had said it to myself countless times since Remus told me everything, and I finally thought I was ready to come out to someone, starting with George. I was still a little unsure but since I knew now two other people with similar feelings (Charlie had approached me the next day, looking happier than I had seen him since he got his first job with his dragons), I knew I could do it. Or at least I hoped.

We were laying on the couch, going over last year’s sales report when I just blurted it out. “Yeah so I’ve been talking with some people recently and I realize that I don’t like girls. Or anyone really.”

George was immediate in his response. “Okay, cool. I’m glad you told me, Freddie.” He was silent for a couple minutes before asking suddenly, “Wait so why did you take Angelina to the Yule Ball if you didn’t like her?”

“Because you do, duh.”

“Hold up, what? Don’t be absurd!”

To set the record straight, I was right. He did like her and, after a few agonizing months on my part, finally asked her out. She returned the favor a year later by proposing, when he almost fainted. But you didn’t hear that from me!

**Author's Note:**

> The terms ‘aromantic’, ‘greysexual’, and ‘demisexual’ didn’t come out until a few years after this story takes place (2000), but let’s pretend like Remus knows everything here. I would have changed the year this takes place in, but I really wanted to be able to make that joke at the end so…


End file.
